Door-locking mechanism



April 28, 1925.

G. B. DOREY DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Filed May .31, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV/ENTOR 650. B. DORE) April 28; 1925.

G. B. 'DOREY DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM Filed May 31. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet '2 v Y fiww Rm R m m ma A mr was M April 2 I 1,535,111

- G. B. DOR EY DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM 1.

Filed May 51 3 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 /NVENTUR G O. B1 DORE) #15 ATTORNEY v Patented Apr. 28, 1925. i

UNITED ST S PATENT OFF CE.

GEORGE B. Donny, OF'ICHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 ENTERPRISE RAILWAY EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION oF-ILLINoIs;

DOOR-LOCKING MECHANISM.

I Application filed May 31, I923. seriaiNo. 642,468.

To all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, GEORGE B. DOREY, av subject of the King of England, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of, Illinois,-have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door-Locking Mechanisms, of which chef-following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this Specification. 1

This inventionrelates to improvements in door locking mechanisms, and more particularly mechanisms for side dumping doors used in cars of the gondola and like types particularly adapted for discharging ballast by means of unloading plows andlwhe'rein the doors are. adapted to be opened by the discharging load and returned to closed po- I sition under the influence of gravity. The

novel featuresof my inventio'n'pertain more particularly to the means employed for causing a translatory movement of a locking shaft. 0

- An object of my invention is to provide a mechanism which will Operate to engage the doorswhennotfully closed and bring the sametoa fully closed'position. g y. A further object of my invention is to provide a mechanism, which will act difierentially inthe operation of theside doors, providing for the. greatest power atthe end of the door closing operation and at the commencement of the door opening operation.'

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification andclaims. v. i

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side. elevational viewof substantially onehalf of the side of a side unloading car showing the side doors closed and the locking mechanism in normal locked position. Figure 2 is a sectional elevational viewpon an enlarged scale, taken through one of the side doors and substantially on a line corresponding to line 2-2 of Fig. 1. illustrating the side door locking mechanism in normal locked position. Figs. 3 to 9 inclusive "are diagrammatic views illustrating various positions of the door locking. mechanism on an enlarged, scale, Fig; 3 illustrating thejlocking shaft in normal locked position; Fig. lillustrating the position of the shaft after a revolution of 30 from locked position; Fig. 5 after 60 revolution from locked position; Fig. 6 after 90 revolution from locked position; Fig. 7 after 120 revolution from locked positionyand Fig. 8 after 150 revolution from locked position; while Fig. 9 illustrates the position of the shaft in normal release position with the locking shaft moved out of the path of the door. Fig. 10

is a fragmentary view of the end of the car illustrating the locking shaft in locked position. Fig. 11 is an illustration, as

viewed on the side of the car, showing in C assembly relation, one of the crank arms secured to the shaft andthe connecting link secured to the said crank arm. Fig. 12 is a side view of the mechanism, in assembly relation, as shown in Fig. 11.' Fig. 13 is an enlarged elevational side view. of a portion of the side of the car showing the locking mechanism as carried by the door and movable therewith. Fig.v 14 is a sectional view through the door in locked position and is taken on a line corresponding substantially to line 1414 of Fig. 13. And Fig. 15 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 14' through the door but showing the same in openyposition. v V 1 Referring first to Figs; 1-12, the car shown therein, only a portion of which is illustrated, consists of a framework which includes side sill 10, side stakes l1, corner post made up of Vertical corner members 12 and another member 13 spaced therefrom a sufficient distance to provide for a ladder -,therebetween, and a top member 14 supportedon a longitudinallyextending top member 15 secured to the side stakes and I corner post. Ladder rungs extend between members 12 and 13 and near the bottom thereof a sill step 16 is disposed. Side doors,

stakes, and each is preferably formed of boards 20 battered together by reinforcing members 21 having hinge straps 22secured at the hinged edge of the door. Said members21 are preferably formed of angles with one flange bolted to the boards and, at the 1 Y free edge of the door, the angles are prefer ably flattened by folding the' flanges together as shown at 21 and extending the folded portion downwardly below the freeedge of the door and below the floor 23' of the car.'

Said downwardly extending'portion (if-each member 21 is bent inwardly and is preten ably formed of arcuate shape'as shown at 9A for the purpose hereinafter fully enplained.

.OutWa-rd movement of the side doors is- )revented by the interposition of a shaft 25 between'the doors. and a portion of the car structure. A, preferred way "of disposing the shaft-is by. placing the same in elongated slots 26 in the side stakes of, the car and moving the shaft in the said slots in the manner hereinafter described. It is to be understood that crank arms 27 are rigidly secured to I the shaft andfpreferably adjacent each side sjtakeihnd a'coiinection" made between each of 'saidcr ank arms and a portion of the car structure by meansiof a link 28 which-is pivoted to the car structure by meansof pivot 29 1 and to the crank arm by 1 meansjof piv'otf30i "Each'of the linksQS is preferablymadeof hook shape in order that i best in Figure 3.

a straight line joining the p vots 29 and 30 to the stakes in order toplace the link carbeef any suitable a it is particularly ryingpivots v29 in double shear'gf At the lower portion thoreofi thelinks 28 are bent as-indicated at 32 for the PUIPOSG'Of accommodating the head of pivot 30, as shown in Fig; 11. While the crank arms 27 may desirable'to make these members as simple as possible and in orderto tittitlIitlllS object, it is preferabl'e to make each one" substantially as shownin Figs". 11 andl'l2, that is, with a body portion 33 fitting oyer the shaft 25 and through which a bolt or rivet 34 adapted to pass andthrough the shaitv2 5 for the purpose of effecting a rigid connection between these members. At eachv end ofthe body portion, fianges35 are disposed and connected by webs 36, said webs being perforated at '37 for the reception of the pivot 30 which'extends through'the length of thearm, thereby providing a very stable bearing for thesaid'pivot j ,The end of each shaft'25 is formed with a loop 38 adapted toreceive an operating bar or tool for the purpose"v of producing leverage and 'rotating theshaft. A cam '39 is pivotallymounted on the corner stake '12 and adapted to engage theloop 38 in order to maintain the shaft 25 in locked position and prevent the same fromturning' due to ove the the vibration of the car while in transit. I

The swing of said cam 39 is" limited by 7 means of a finger 4O formedthereon which is adapted to engage the loop 38 of the shaft 25, as shown in Fi 10. b

In a car of the type disclosed having a 3 shaft extending over a plurality of doors, the force of the load in the car pressing outwardly against the doors generally makes the opening of the same a difiieult operation and one which imposes considerable strain on the door operating,mechanism; In the mechanismwhichl havedesigned, these dif ficulties are minimized by providing a dif ferentially acting mechanism wherein the turning force exerted to open the doors is mostefiieient at thecommencement the door opening operation; 'Converselyythis also applies during the doon closing mbve ment wherein, during the final stage of the upward movement of the sha ft, a very limited amount of turning movement exerts i tremendousower operating to force the a shaft upwar 1y, said differential action; be-

ing accomplished by increasing the amount the shaft a given distance as the same pro gresses towards its final closed position. In

of turning movement vnecessary to displace orderto more fully illustrate this feature of invention I haveineh ded in the d awi'ngs, 3 to 9' inclusivefillu stratin the i yarious relative positions of the she. at intervals 015 30 degrees of rotation, the'j position in Fig. 3 illustrating the shaft in locked position with the pivotal points of the mechanism and the axis of the shaft being in a straight line. I InFigQt, ill'ujstratin the position of the shaft after the same has n rotated antilockwise thro Jgh scended only a very limited distance as indicated by the reference character A; During such rotationof the shaft in counterclockwise direction; it will bebl} served that the shaft descends downwardly an arc of 30?, it will, be observed that the shaft has do a but the pivotal point 30fmoves upwardly due to thefact'thatthelink 28 also moves ina counterclockwise direction. After rotation of the shaft through'the next 30ldegreesor from 30 to 60 as indicated in Fig; 5; the total downward displacement of the shaft is equalito the distance b; substantially three times'the distance a. shown in Figf 4, while the link 28 continues its upward movement in a.clockwise:direction] After rotation of the shaft through the next :30 degrees, or fromfiO toQO, thetotal downward displacement otthe shaft'is indicated bythe distance 0 or slightly more than 2 times the distance b shown inFig. y i

The, position of the shaft inthis location marks the limit 10f the upwardrn'ovement of a the link28, the said link thereafter descend- 1 ing by rotating in a clockwise direction and permitting the shaft todescend morefrapidly'as shown in Figs. 7 and 8 wherein the total rotation of the shaft is indicated as 120 and 150 respectively. Continued roat the end of the shaft assumes the positionindicated by dotted lines in Figi 10, the

shaft in this position being free of the door as shown in Fig. 9. I

Assuming now that the shaft is in the normal release position as shownin F ig. 10 in dotted lines, an operating bar 41 is inserted in theloop and rotation of the shaft effected in a clockwise direction as indicated by'the arrow 42. Rotation of the shaft in the indicated manner movesithe same up- Wardly and into contact. with the arcuate portion 24 of the door braces 21. WVhile I have'shown this inwardly directed portion of the door braceas of arcuate shape it may be made straight or partly straight and partly curved, the object of the same being to cause engagement between the doors and shaft even when the former are in partly opened position, the shaft then operating to wedge the doors tofully closed position. During the first 90 of rotation of the shaft to elfect'closure of the doors, the shaft is moved vertically through the distance d as indicated in Fig. 6 whereas during the second 90 of rotation the-shaft moves only through the distance 0 consequently it will be seen that the device is extremely efficient,

Q the shaft moving rapidlythrough the first 90 of motion when there is comparatively little opposition to the vertical movement of the shaft, outside of lifting-the weight thereof and possibly wedgingone or more of the. doors to the fullyclosed position. During the final 90 of motion or moving the shaft through the distance"c, the shaft may be called upon. to exert considerable wedging effort to make a tight joint but the differential action heretofore explained furnishesthe required power withoutrequiring additional effort on'the part of the operator. As, the shaft moves into final closed position, the cam 39 drops into lockingposition by its own weight over the loop 38. The'sh'aft 25 maybe made to'entend throughout the length of the car in one piece or may be divided at or near the center of the car in the manner shown in Fig. 1 when a suitable abutment 43 is secured to the stake and adaptedto engage the end of the shaft. The abutment in this instance consists of a bar spaced from the stake a short distance by means of washers 44. The metal removed to form the slots does not materially weaken the stakes, but in orderto compensate for such slots, bearing plates may be used as shown at 45, being securely riveted to the stakes by a plurality of rivets 46.

I have shown in Figs. 13 to 15 inclusive,

the same device as carried by the door instead of by the framework of the car. In

said figures, 110 indicates the side sill, 111

the sidestakes, 112the floor of the car, 113 the top member, 114 the top rail member, 115 the swinging side door formed of side boards 116, united by door battens 117 and hinge straps 118 secured to the hinged end of the door. While only one door is shown, it'will be understood that a number of such doors may be used with an operating shaft extending from one door to the other.

The locking mechanism proper consists of hook members 119 secured to the stakes and an operating shaft l20 carried by the doors and adapted to move in guides 121 secured to'the door. The shaft 120'is adapted to assume a position between the hook members 119 and the door'battens 117 as shown in Fig. 14 and when the door is in the open position, the shaft is adapted to swing there with and clear of the hook as shown in Fig. 15, said clearance being designated by the reference character f,

- The mechanism whereby the shaft 120 is moved consists of crank arms 122 rigidly secured to the shaft and by means of pivots 124 to the links 123 whereby a link joint is effected between'the door and shaft. Each of said links is pivotally connected to the door preferably to the guide 121 by means of pivot 125. The shaft is moved from normal release position to locked position by rotating through an'arc of approximately-180 degrees in the manner heretofore explained.

Although I have shown and described What Inow consider the preferred manner of carrying out the invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a railway car, the combination with a supporting framework; of a swinging side door; a shaft adapted to assume a position between the side door and a portion'of the supporting framework; a link pivoted to the supporting framework; and a crank arm rigidly secured to the shaft and pivoted to theaforesaid link the aforesaid shaft being adapted to be moved by rotation thereof about the pivot securing the crank arm to the link.

' 2. In a railway car, the combination with a supporting framework comprising vertical stakes and a top rail member; of a swinging side door hinged to the top rail member and disposed between the stakes; elongated slots in the stakes; a shaft passing through the slots in the stakes and adapted to be raised and lowered in the slots to assume a position in the path of the swinging side door; and differentially acting means for raising and lowering said shaft.

3. In a railway car, tne combination with a-plurality of stakes havingoelongated slots therein; of swingingside doors disposed be tween the stakes; a shaft movable in the aforesaid slots and having a. link connection 1 with the stakes, wherebythe shaft: is raised,

by rotation thereo'ffrom aposition out of thepath of the door and'moved in the path of the door. 1 I

i. In a railway car, thGLCOHiblIlfltlOll with a side frame including a side stake having an elongated slot therein; of a, swinging side door pivoted to the side frame a; shaft movable in the slotandadapted to assume a po- SllllOIl'lIl thepath of the door anctlmvingai 5. In a railway car,the combinationwith a supporting framework; of a swinging side door; angles, each having one flange secured to the said door and the; lower portion of: the outstanding flange folded over the adjacent flange thereof-and providing wedge por tions; and a shaft adapted to be movedin the'path of the said wedge portions of the angles. a v I 6. In a railway car, the combination with a supporting framework; of a swinging side door; angles,' each having, oneflange securedto the said 'door and the lower por tionof the outstanding flange folded over. the adjacent flange thereof, said I double thickness of. angle bcing'curved inwardly and downwardly; and I a" bodily-movable shaft adapted to assume a positionbetween aportionof the supporting irameivorkand the outer sides of the aforesaid curved poi tions of the angles in order to Wedge door to closed position. a

"7. Ina railway car, the combination with vertical stakes; of a side door; a shaft movablebetween the door and membersrigidwith respect to the stakes; a crank arm rigidly secured to the shaft; alink pivotally securedat-one end to thestakeand pivotally secured at the opposite end to the crank arm, said crank, arm being adapted to be rotated to move the shaft, the shaft being adapted to assumea position below the link when the door is in open position.

8. In a railway car, the combination with vertical stakes; of a shatt movable between the door and members stationary with respect, to the-stakes; a crank arm rigidly secured to the shaft;,a link pivotally secured atone end to the stake and pivotally secured at the opposite end to the crank arm, said crank armibeing adapted to be rotated to move the shaft, thegshaftbeing adapted to assume a position intermediate the mortar the pivotal points of theaforesaid link" when thedoors are in closed position.

9. aidoor lockingfmechanism, the coin-i bination w thashaft adapted to have bodily movement lnan elongated slot; of an arm se cured to the shaft; :1; link connection between the arm and one end of the slot whereby the shaft iscaused to move intho slot in a straightline, thesaid link 'bein arcuate shape, whereby the axis of the she 12 may he between the pivotal axes of the link and substantially in a straight line joining the same. v 1,

r 10. In a, railwaygcar, the combination with a member having 'an elongated slot; of a shaft adapted to have a translatory motion therein; a crank arm rigidly secured to the shaft; and a linkmemberdig;

posed to one side of the crank arm and,

her having the elongated slot. y y

11. In a car of the character described, the combination with a pivotally supported door member and a fixed member extend ing along an edge of the door when the pivoted thereto, and pivoted also to the mem latter is in closed position, one of said mema bers having an elongated slotextending substantially parallel. tothe line of the wise of the slot, said shaft having a.

extending arm rigid therewith; and means,

connected at one endto said membcrhav ing a, slot therein, at a: point oppositeuthe end of saidslotnearest the pivotal axis of the door, said means being connected atits' other endto saidn'adial arm, said shaft being adapted to engage said shoulder when the door is in closed position to thereby retain the doorin such josition. Q it 12. In a railwaycar, tlie combination with a supporting framework; of a swingingside door; a shaft ada ted toassume a position between the side oor and a portion of the supporting framework, said shaft being, bodily -movable;,a guide adaptedto control the movement of the shaft ;a link adapted:

to have pivotal movement about an, axis having fixedvrelation to said guide-;-and a crank arm secured to the shaftandv pivoted to the; link, the said shaft being adapted to be moved by rotation thereofabout the pivot securing the crank arm to the link.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 26th day of May,1923.

WVitnesses FRANCES, SAVAGE, 1

HAnmn'rrnM. DEAMEILU scenes nqnonnv. 

